Web Development

Live hardware demos, even on Linux, are not for the faint of heart. You could lose your equipment. The stuff might not work when you start your sales pitch. And then there’s the question of when to begin the demo. After a short introductory slide deck, or throughout your presentation? These are the challenges a salesman, executive or, yes, even a Linux developer faces when they showcase a product or service with a strong hardware emphasis. While they’re pitching, there’s… continue…

Meteor, a platform that help users build Web apps with JavaScript, has received $11.2 million in series A funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Matrix Partners. Like GitHub, which Andreessen Horowitz earlier invested $100 million in, the Meteor platform and framework is open source. Meteor was founded by Matt DeBergalis, Nick Martin and Geoff Schmidt, all of whom had previously created their own browser apps. Meteor resulted from their need for a platform that could help build rich interactive, yet real-time, Web… continue…

OSCON 2012 was the place to be if you were looking for an interesting gig, cutting-edge Web dev techniques, or DIY open hardware projects. It was one of the most technically-oriented conferences I’ve attended in a while. My observations: Much discussion centered around Web development, particularly during in-depth talks on HTML5, PHP, Javascript and Python. And, no surprise, there were no less than six sessions on cloud services and computing. Mobile topics included “Speech Enabling Android Apps,” “Building a Mobile,… continue…

Developer Peter Zotov has started a campaign to kill Adobe Flash off sooner rather than later. Some of the reasons he gives include hundreds of security holes, the drain on battery life and the exclusion of Flash from most mobile platforms. But his chief complaint is that Adobe can’t protect Flash code. His ability to crack protected or obfuscated Flash on the Flash player lends credibility to the argument. He challenges anyone to supply protected or obfuscated Flash code that… continue…

Salesforce is bigger than you realize. In fact, it’s even bigger than Igor Pesenson realized when he first started working there more than four years ago as a quality assurance engineer. Originally, Pesenson interned at the company and thought he knew the product. But when he was hired full time, he was shocked at the size of Salesforce’s complete offering. It took him months to understand the application’s various components and how his particular team’s work fit into the greater… continue…

No, this isn’t a personal ad. We’re looking for people who might like to guide one of our Talent Communities. You’d be the person who gives voice to those who work in your particular specialty, sharing your thoughts and lessons by blogging, answering questions in the discussion boards, and helping identify conferences, organizations and other resources that can help people develop their skills. Yes, it requires some effort, but it’s designed to be manageable. We know you have a day… continue…

Good ratings in Google Play and the Amazon App store are the lifeblood of a successful app. Top-rated apps in Google Play are frequently featured on the front page. One way you get such prominence is to test, and test well. Testing on all available device configurations can be difficult and expensive if you have to acquire the hardware yourself. Reaching Beta users before launch can be equally daunting. One way to shorten the time between Beta and Production with… continue…

There are quite a variety of Web browsers you can use on Linux. They range from full-featured ones, like Firefox and Chrome, all the way down to the utilitarian Lynx command line browser. While the top two give an unsurpassed graphical experience, Lynx has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that you will find useful. Firefox Firefox is probably the best-known modern Web browser for Linux. It has been around, in various incantations, since 2004 and grew out of… continue…

Google is building in Australia with LEGOs. I’m guessing that Build With Chrome originated with some Google developer’s 20% time. Perhaps a developer originally from Australia or New Zealand who likes playing Minecraft decided to create something a bit similar. As there are dozens of Minecraft clones, instead of using Minecraft voxel cubes, they decided to use an even better-known building material like LEGO bricks. Then, they implemented it as a mashup of Google Maps and LEGO bricks with 3D view… continue…

It’s the job you really want. You are nervous, but have studied, prepped and researched. Then it happens – one of the interviewers asks you a hard question and you don’t know the answer. Should you try and fabricate a plausible response? Tell them politely that you just don’t know? How do you handle it? Here are some tips to help you break through and respond gracefully. Ask clarifying questions. Before assuming you don’t know the answer, make sure you… continue…